| Show GEORGE VI AND ELIZABETH CROWNED five million voices cry god save the king as guns boom glad tidings from historic tower of london london england god save the king As the great guns of the tower of london boomed forth the news that the archbishop of canterbury had placed the weighty crown of st edward the crown of england upon the head of george VI the cry came forth in a mighty swell from five million throats as from the throat of one man this was the climax of the greatest show on earth a show for which a generous share of the throng which lined the six and one half miles of the processional route had waited without moving from their places through the dampness of a london spring night and indeed through part of the preceding day those of the kings subjects who had not been able to affard 2 to tor for a seat that would assure them a glimpse of their new monarch on his proudest day began marking off space along the curb on the afternoon of may 11 II smart alecks who thought they could put off their vigil until sunrise of coronation day were doomed to stretch their necks an inch or two in twelve hours of straining to see over several rows of earlier arrivals A quiet empire it t was a heavy day of work at the end of many backbreaking back breaking weeks of preparation for the gentlemen and ladies of the peerage whose rank and purse entitled them to sit for an entire day in 10 to 25 pounds of clothing per capita on a hard seat beat 19 inches wide without ever moving but it if was a magnificent ent show the lord give you fruitful landa land and healthful seasons said the archbishop in the benediction which followed the crowning of the king victorious fleets and armies and a quiet empire no one in britain could deny that in a time of worldwide world wide unrest a time of urgent necessity for imperial strength and unity the political expediency of a quiet empire prompted the government to make of this the most splendid coronation in all history the government expense expense in the crowning of george VI has been estimated to be double that in the coronation of his father 26 years ago its backing ts urz 1 raa lie lic funds not counting an estimated spent by the royal household in entertaining royal an and d foreign guests in the vast coronation pageant the government hoped to lend new emphasis to that sentiment which is the real bond holding the empire together and which is symbolized by the crown and the man who wears it there is still an undercurrent of dissatisfaction over the abdication of edward VIII the new king and ana must be popularized to the fullest possible extent the coronation was an opportunity to accomplish this and the government could afford to let none of it slip past the show and the crowd lived up p go all advance billing it was estimated that there were visitors who had to cross the ocean all londona Lon dons hotel rooms were e sold out souvenir manufacturers and vendors did the expected land office business the drink bill for toasting the new king was guessed at queen goes first pomp and regal solemnity were byword of the day from the time the king and queen boarded the coronation coach at buckingham palace P alace in midmorning mid morning eight magnificent ent cream colored horses drew the ancient fourton four ton vehicle do down w n the streets it has traversed sin since ce 1761 when it was built for queen anne in its heavily ornate gold and jewels it carried the spectators back through the pages of of history to th those 0 se days before the american colonies had revolted and prevented the british empire from including the lions share of north america the ancient coach a tradition n at coronations coro nations bore the royal couple down the mall mail to the abbey where the th e queens procession left the king to enter first so that she c could stand and wait for him by the c hairs chairs of state or recognition cha chairs irs in front of the royal box where the other members of the royal family fam ily were seated peers and peeresses pee were in their th belr places before the central figures of the coronation drama arrived and before them the real m martyrs had assumed their positions pos irions these the eight newspaper per photographers the government had permitted to be present abhorring Ab horing the thought of flash alas h bulbs marring the solem solemnity ty of such an occasion but still stil I 1 anxious iou that pictures be taken officials hit upon a solution they provided camouflaged quarters for camera men in false pillars and other positions which blended into the ba background ck ground of the abbey narrow slits in the wells walls of these refuges enabled the cameras to peer out at the spectacle but the poor they had to be set up before anyone the abbey and maintain their entered at pi nm IV r abow aa king george VI and queen elizabeth elizabell Eliza betL officially crowned in one of hist his orys torys most spectacular and colorful coronations coro nations cramped positions for eight or nine hours they were not permitted to withdraw until everyone else had left A general color scheme of blue and gold with rich soft velvet hang ings made a brilliant background for the cast and for the spectators in their gorgeous uniforms and gowns peeresses Pee wore robes of crimson velvet trimmed in ermine unless they happened to be of royal blood in which event they were required to don the purple velvet of royalty the court gowns worn underneath der neath were of white cheam silver or gold fashion experts es timatea forms of the men started at about and went up from there His torys greatest gem display this did not of course include the jewelry or the coronets the cheapest coronet could hardly have been purchased for less th than an the total of all the rings bracelets necklaces etc worn by the present must have run into the millions IM I 1 and was probably the most costly and magnificent display of s th the crown of 0 st edward or crown of england made for charles 11 II in 1662 and worn because of its excessive weight for but a fleeting moment by george VI during the coronation ceremony gems ever worn in one place at one time in the worlds history rank of the members of the nobility was indicated by the amount of ermine on the robes of the women and the length of their trains A duchess was marked by b y four rows of ermine on her robe and a train two yards long A marc marchioness lioness was permitted three and one half r rows of ermine and a one and chows three ee fourths yard train a countess half a row less of ermine half a yard less train rank was further graded down at halt half a row and half a yard per classification the head of the procession which had included a great list of dignitaries the kings king representatives and royal persons with their families from all over the th e world had been waiting at the west door of the abbey and as the royal coa coach ch approached filed in to await their monarch following them came the chaplains deans and officers of westminster then the archbishops arch bishops with the queen consort and the ladies and gentlemen of the court enter the king noblemen close behind bore the staff and the sceptre tre with the cross and the golden spurs an and d the three swords which signify mercy temporal justice and spiritual justice justic e these were the trappings of st ed ward with which english kings are invested then came more dignitaries and the kings sceptre with the dove symbolic of mercy and equity the kings gold and diamond orb surmounted by the christian cross the crown of st edward the patent and the chalice and the bible then entered george jiin VI in the crimson robes of state to join hi his 1 s queen and march through the cho choir ir and up the stairs to the theatre passing the thrones they then kneeled at the fald stools before the recognition chairs to offer prayers next they proceeded about the ab stew at 0 th e assemblage the king went to his chair and once more faced each side of the abbey as t the he archbishop in loud tones announced him after the regalia had been brought and placed by the dean of westminster upon the altar the archbishop asked the king accord inato ritual sire is your majesty willing to take the oath and the king answered 1 I am willing he gave his oath to govern the peoples of the british isles and the empire I 1 according to their laws and cus toms to maintain the profession of the gospel and the church of england after he had kissed the bible and signed the oath the king repeated and subscribed to t the he declaration la ration required by parliament parlia ment and with the assemblage prepared for the communion service following F 0 allowing this lengthy service th the e king having first removed the cap and robes of state ascended to the throne of st edward edward the ancient chair which contains beneath its seat the historic stone of scone upon which the kings of scotland sat as they were crowned a thousand years ago after a silken pall had been put over the king the archbishop anointed him upon the hands breast and face with the th holy oil and he was ready to be presented with the spurs and the sword king receives nis his crown these given george VI removed th the e pall and was clothed for the first time in the royal robe of purple the orb and cross were brought from the altar by the dean of westminster and placed in the kings hands by the archbishop he was wa next invested with the ring and the the sceptres tres then as the king bowed his head the dean dan of westminster brought the crown of st edw edward a rd and the archbishop receiving it from him held it but momentarily upon the head of the king its weight is terrific this was the signal for the trumpets and the guns in the tower of london tor for the peers and peeresses pee to cry god save the kingl and for the millions who along the cess ional processional line outside had been waiting for that moment to toss their hats in the air and cry likewise god save the kingl the peers were now allowed to their coronets put on there followed more religious beligio us ceremonies of great length and solemnity soi and then the coronation of the queen following which the peer esses e cried god save the and donned their coronets queene Que enill still more long 1019 hours of ceremony then in the i the X early evening ev enin 9 kings ings coach at last passed more down the processional once and an cl the millions route day tor for who had waited w acted all the sight ight s went home h 6 0 Wet vrn newspaper union happy appy |
